Overview

From the award-winning author of Dressing Up, a riveting and diverse history of women's hair that reestablishes the cultural power of hairdressing in nineteenth-century America. From the award-winning author of Dressing Up, a riveting and diverse history of women's hair that reestablishes the cultural power of hairdressing in nineteenth-century America. In the nineteenth century, the complex cultural meaning of hair was not only significant, but it could also impact one's place in society. After the Civil War, hairdressing was also a growing profession and the hair industry a mainstay of local, national, and international commerce. In Beyond Vanity, Elizabeth Block expands the nascent field of hair studies by restoring women's hair as a cultural site of meaning in the early United States. With a special focus on the places and spaces in which the hair industry operated, Block argues that the importance of hair has been overlooked due to its ephemerality as well as its misguided association with frivolity and triviality. As Block clarifies, hairdressing was anything but frivolous. Using methods of visual and material culture studies informed by concepts of cultural geography, Block identifies multiple substantive categories of place and space within which hair acted. These include the preparatory places of the bedroom, hair salon, and enslaved peoples' quarters, as well as the presentation places of parties, fairs, stages, and workplaces. Here are also the untold stories of business owners, many of whom were women of color, and the creators of trendsetting styles like the pompadour and Gibson Girl bouffant. Block's ground-breaking study examines how race and racism affected who participated in the presentation and business of hair, and according to which standards. The result of looking closely at the places and spaces of hair is a reconfiguration that allows a new understanding of the cultural power of hair in the period.

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9780262049054

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Reviews

“A lot of fascinating stories . . . there is much to learn from Elizabeth Block’s new book, which is written as eloquently as her first book, Dressing Up: The Women Who Influenced French Fashion, a volume I would recommend to anyone interested in the story of fashion.” —Forbes “Beyond Vanity takes on hair and hairdressing in early America as the important cultural signifiers that they are . . . Yes, it’s a fascinating look at some fashionable and fabulous material culture, and is beautifully illustrated, but it’s also a clear reminder of how much the culture around hair reflects the racial and economic inequalities of society writ large.” —Hyperallergic “The book is meticulously organized, with each element contributing to the validation of her central thesis. Given Block’s stature as a prominent art historian, this level of excellence is expected, yet it’s always gratifying when she so precisely addresses our interests.” —Daily Art Magazine “While hair itself might have no intrinsic value, for centuries meaning has been assigned to it and it has played a vital role in our history. Beyond Vanity: The History and Power of Hairdressing seeks to untangle this role and the impact of women’s hair on culture throughout history.” —Dazed

“A lot of fascinating stories . . . there is much to learn from Elizabeth Block’s new book, which is written as eloquently as her first book, Dressing Up: The Women Who Influenced French Fashion, a volume I would recommend to anyone interested in the story of fashion.” —Forbes “Beyond Vanity takes on hair and hairdressing in early America as the important cultural signifiers that they are . . . Yes, it’s a fascinating look at some fashionable and fabulous material culture, and is beautifully illustrated, but it’s also a clear reminder of how much the culture around hair reflects the racial and economic inequalities of society writ large.” —Hyperallergic “The book is meticulously organized, with each element contributing to the validation of her central thesis. Given Block’s stature as a prominent art historian, this level of excellence is expected, yet it’s always gratifying when she so precisely addresses our interests.” —Daily Art Magazine

Author Information

Elizabeth L. Block is an art historian, Senior Editor in the Publications and Editorial Department at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the author of Dressing Up- The Women Who Influenced French Fashion (MIT Press).

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